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Hot on the heels of former Japan national team boss Philippe Troussier's appointment as General Manager of low-ranking JFL side FC Ryukyu come rumours in the Japanese press of a yet more sensational connection between the global game and Japanese non-league football. Rumours are circulating that former World Player of the Year George Weah has accepted an offer similar to that of Troussier, but from a club so far down the pyramid that they in fact barely exist.

Valiente Koriyama - not to be confused with Valiente Toyama of the Hokushinetsu League - were formed in 2007 with the long-term intention of bringing J-League football to Fukushima, north of Tokyo. The plan is that Valiente will enter formal competition this coming season in Division 3 of the Fukushima Prefectural League. This places them six tiers below J2, while seasoned observers of the amateur and semi-pro game in Japan will bear in mind that in Tohoku League sides FC Perada Fukushima and Viancone Fukushima, the local area already has two ambitious clubs at a far more advanced state of development than Valiente.

Liberian star Weah, 41, most recently turned out for UAE club Al-Jazira and towards the end of 2007 was reported as having been turned down by Slavia Prague after a trial with the Czech outfit. Troussier, meanwhile, has appointed as Ryukyu coach fellow Frenchman Jean-Paul Rabier. Rabier was a player with sides such as Laval, Valenciennes and Reims and the 70s and 80s, before going on to coach in his home country, Burkina Faso, Algeria and most recently Qatar.